So now that I’ve got my wiz-bang cable connection, could some of ya’ll tell me how to do instant messaging, one-to-one computer chat?
I’m not looking to frequent chat rooms (though Lord knows it’s hard to underestimate the thrill of being hit on by 14 year old boys), but rather to torment my friends, family, and unwitting message board acquaintences with MORE ME!!
And do dopers still do a weekly chat like they used to? If yes, what are the details?
Anyhoo, anyone want to help me out? Anyone want to walk me through it? Gratuitous mockery about my dumb-ass-ness accepted as deserved. Thanks!
Well, first and foremost, what IM program(s) do your friends and family use? If you are sending with AOLIM, and they are using MSN Messenger then we have the whole “right pew, wrong church” scenario. Once you have determined which application(s) the majority of your aquaintances use, you need to download and install them. The most common possibilities are:
They each have pros and cons which are outside of the scope of your current question, but for the most part the usage is the same. You first create a user account with the software provider and choose a “handle” or user name by which you will be recognized (in ICQ this is a number which is assigned to you). Then you log into the software and create a buddy list of the people you plan to message most often. For this you will either need to contact your friends and family via other means and ask for their user name/number, or use the directory search fuction that I believe they all offer. Then you are ready to start sending messages. Typically, the software will inform you of who is online and offline at any given time, so if you happen to be surfing at 2:30 am and see that your bestest buddy Mastema just came online, you can message him and see why he is up so late. In order to message, you should just click/double click on the name in your contact list. Welcom to the wonderful world of IM.
Did this actually answer your question?
Thankfully
I will now continue the sentence that I had started when my hand, in an effort to save the world from more of my rambling, snuck up and submitted my unfinished response.
Thankfully . . . most of these programs are user friendly enough that a cat walking across the keyboard will send a few dozen messages to various people. MSN actually goes beyond user friendly and leans toward user aggressive; wherein it will remind you that you haven’t messaged anyone in 0.00017 seconds and they are probably all worried about you by now don’t you think hmmmmm??? *The preceding sentence was exagerated, I don’t believe they actually carry the seconds to 5 decimal places.
Also I would like to point out in my previous post that the word welcome is supposed to have an “E” on the end of it, but that was the point at which my right hand, which is in charge of putting "e"s at the end of welcome, started migrating up toward the mouse for it’s unauthorized submission.